Are Your Moving Expenses Tax Deductible?

If you’re moving in Toronto or elsewhere, you might not be aware that your moving expenses may be tax deductible. That’s right – according to the Canada Revenue Agency, you can claim moving expenses on our taxes, but only if they’re eligible. To be eligible, you’ll need to satisfy a few conditions. But don’t worry, there’s nothing complex to figuring out which expenses are deductible and which aren’t.

Can you claim moving expenses on your taxes?

For starters, in order to claim expenses, you must be moving for work or school. Those are broad categories which include moving to work at a new job, running a business at a new location, or starting full-time coursework at a university. In addition, your new home has to be at least 40 kilometres closer to your new workplace or school than your previous home was.

Moving for work

Even if you’re self-employed, you can get this deduction. Keep in mind that if you’re an employee who received moving expense reimbursement from your employer, you’ll have to disclose that on your tax forms. For more information, visit the relevant section on the CRA website.

Moving for school

You’re eligible for a tax deduction for moving expenses if you’re relocating to start attending a university, college, or other post-secondary school full-time. This applies even if you are moving outside of Canada, as a Canadian citizen. The main stipulation here is that you must be establishing a new place of primary residence – that means you’ve sold or stopped renting your current home in order to live in your new home. If you’re keeping your current residence while moving to your new home temporarily, you won’t be able to deduct moving expenses from your taxes.